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Prince George is king of the world on first birthday

An official photograph of Prince George celebrating his first birthday was released Saturday. The prince had an eventful first year of life including a tour of Australia and New Zealand with his parents.

Maria Puente, USA TODAY 1:09 p.m. EDT July 22, 2014

The world is still cooing: Prince George is turning a year old, adored and adorable.

Prince George at the Natural History Museum in London on July 2, to mark his first birthday.(Photo: John Stillwell/ WPA Pool /Getty Images)

It's good to be a future king — as in Prince George of Cambridge, the toast of the world as he turns a year old on July 22.

The adorable and adored third-in-line to the British throne is even more a focus of obsessive interest today than he was when he arrived on Planet Mania last year, to be met by a cheering, roaring, sweating mob of media people and a delighted royal family.

He's the world's most famous baby but he's not the most photographed baby; Prince William and Duchess Kate are too protective for that.

That's why rare new pictures of him, at a butterfly exhibit at London's Natural History Museum, released on Saturday and Monday to mark his birthday, were greeted with such fervor, at least in the media and among his many fans.

But George is still high-profile, an historic baby even, who one day might reign as King George VII.

"A lot of people are jokingly saying, 'he's my little nephew,' " says Christine OBrien, whose blog, What Would Kate Do, follows mother-and-child closely. "A lot of people have taken up a kind of friendship role with Will and Kate and feel they can be a part of George's life, even if distantly."

Never mind trying to explain this phenomenon; just go with it.

George is "the world's most eligible infant," as Vanity Fair put it about their August cover star. His fashion sensibility is selling out baby goods everywhere, according to bloggers who track him (those Petit Bateau denim overalls he wore to the museum? All gone).

He's been showered with gifts, from a giant stuffed wombat and a mini sea-going boat to a first-ever $136 royal coin. Britain's most elite private schools are already competing to nab him as a future student, according to the Daily Mirror.

Prince William Duchess Kate took Prince George the 'Sensational Butterflies' exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London for a photo session to mark his first birthday.(Photo: John Stillwell / AFP/Getty Images)

Retailers invoke George's name to flog all kinds of stuff, from the mundane (Tetley Tea is giving away a box of British tea to any American named George who posts his or her baby picture on the company's Facebook wall by midnight Tuesday), to the most luxurious (George's Silver Cross pram is hand-made with polished chrome chassis, hand-stitched fabrics, hand-painted detailing — and costs $2,750).

George's baby duds — old-fashioned, expensive, classic British baby clothes like rompers, dungarees and baby booties — have got him named best-dressed royal by the U.K. baby website My1stYears.com.

He's even inspired a shift in baby retailing and buying in America, say OBrien and Lauren Greene, 25, and Christine Lairson, 22, two "very active members of the royal-watching community" in the USA. Their blog, PrinceGeorgePieces.com, took off soon after launching around the hugely successful Cambridge Down Under tour in April.

"Americans are looking for a classy look so opposite of what they see today," says Greene. "They think, 'if I dress my baby like this, hopefully I can reach the classy level that Kate has.' "

Greene and Lairson say American companies they work with are coming out with British-style baby stuff because of George, while their young-mom friends ask them about the Early Days baby shoes he wears, which are not only retro, they're about $50.

"He's a complete game-changer," says Lairson. After he was seen wearing nautically-themed outfits, "he launched the nautical fashion trend...And his look is completely different from other celebrity babies — Blue Ivy is not going to come out wearing a smock romper with a Peter Pan collar."

What do we know about George's personality? Not muchbut here and there Kate or Will have dropped hints when chatting with well-wishers on walkabout: He cried a lot in the beginning and doesn't like vegetables unless they're mashed up , Kate confided to a teen girl during a hospice visit in New Zealand in April.​ ​Lately, Will said last week during an engagement in Coventry, George is charging around and opening doors, and is a handful at bath time. In other words, he's just like other babies.

What do we know about George's birthday plans? Not much more than speculation: About parties (we won't be invited); about whether Kate's brother James Middleton's cake-making business will provide cakes (if he does, he won't tell); and about what kinds of gifts George might get from the grand and good (eventually it will be public record but not for a while).

But the celebration is likely to be a low-key Middleton-based affair, as in much of George's life up to now, according to British royal correspondents and biographers such as Marcia Moody and Katie Nicholl.

In her Vanity Fair cover story, Nicholl writes that Will and Kate work hard to ensure his life is as normal and as media-free as possible (which is why the palace rarely confirms or denies anything about him).

"They take him to playdates at friends' houses," Nicholl reports. "Generally, the Cambridges keep below the radar in order to have a private life."

The Cambridge approach is to celebrate all birthdays and anniversaries behind closed doors, says OBrien, so the couple "will probably celebrate George's birthday privately" at Kensington Palace (where his nursery is said to be decorated in a Beatrix Potter theme). "We're unlikely to hear much."

There might also be a party at the Middleton estate in Bucklebury outside London, or maybe even at Anmer Hall, their country retreat in Norfolk far from the media hordes.

Certainly, George's birthday won't be like Will's first birthday, in June 1983, when Prince Charles and Princess Diana were on an official visit to Canada and they had to call home and talk to his nanny.

Despite the scarcity of facts, royal reporters have spent the last year vacuuming up every morsel of detail about the little prince and sending it out into a world hungry (Breaking news! He's walking!) for all it can get.

For some, such as the monarchy-skeptical Guardian newspaper, it's all nuts.

"There is something creepy about the fervor directed at Prince George. The media is, in this instance, behaving like that weirdo who stops you in the street to go on for slightly too long about how cute your baby is," wrote columnist Emma Brockes last week.

But this is only the beginning of a lifetime of scrutiny. The media will likely keep banging on about George because he's too much of a good thing, for retailers and readers, to let up on the coverage now.

Until another royal sibling comes along (and there's lots of speculation about that, too), George is all we've got. We're not letting go any time soon.

Anyway, who doesn't love a cute baby?

One of the three official Christmas images taken in late November showing Prince George in a courtyard at Kensington Palace in London. (Photo: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge via Press Association)

Prince George is getting a little sibling! The world's most famous baby will soon (in April) have competition from a little brother or sister. We take a look back at how Prince George has grown. (Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Welcome to the world, Prince George of Cambridge. Prince William and Duchess Kate and baby George were greeted by cheering, from the media and the public, as they emerged from St. Mary's Hospital the day after the July 22, 2013, birth of their royal baby. (Photo: Leon Neal AFP/Getty Images)

Prince George is ready for his closeup. Just one day old, his proud parents presented him to the world on July 23, 2013, outside St. Mary's Hospital in London where he was born. (Dad William was born there, too.) (Photo: John Stillwell AP)

The first picture of George and family appeared on August 20, 2013, when George was just short of 1 month old. The Cambridges posed in the garden of the Middleton family estate in Bucklebury, Berkshire, with George, their dog Lupo and the Middletons' dog Tilly. The shot was taken by Kate's father, Michael Middleton. (Photo: Michael Middleton AFP/Getty Images)

Kate carries George after he was christened at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace in London on October 23, 2013. The 3-month-old baby is wearing a replica of the royal christening gown, first worn by one of Queen Victoria's babies in the 19th century. (Photo: Photo by John Stillwell/ WPA Pool /Getty Images)

The official christening photo shows George in his mother's lap, surrounded by his maternal and paternal families, including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Prince Harry, in the Morning Room at Clarence House in London on Oct. 23, 2013. (Photo: Photo by Jason Bell /Camera Press/ AP)

There were few sightings of George after the christening, until a photographer caught him on Feb. 10, 2014, as he and his mum were on their way to a Middleton family vacation in the Caribbean. The picture of the roly-poly prince, almost 6 months old, in the cute striped hat made the cover of 'Hello' magazine. It was George's first paparazzi shot, and undoubtedly not his last. (Photo: 'Hello')

Shortly before their Down Under tour in April, the palace released this picture on March 29, of Will and Kate, 8-month-old George and Lupo, reminiscent of their first photo taken by Kate's father. The four posed at a window in their apartment in Kensington Palace. The picture was taken by photographer Jason Bell, who also shot the christening photos. (Photo: Jason Bell/Camera Press/ AFP/Getty Images)

April's Cambridge Down Under tour of New Zealand and Australia may have been one of the most successful royal tours. Their first official overseas tour with their son provided new opportunities for the world to see George, nearly 9 months old. They arrived in Wellington, N.Z., on April 7, and Kate carried George down the steps as the wind and rain blew up her scarlet military-style coat. (Photo: Samir Hussein WireImage)

The close-up pictures of George inspired cooing around the world. He was awake, engaged and wriggling the whole time, and looked a lot like his father did at the same age. The tour kicked off a global obsession with his somewhat old-fashioned British baby clothes (rompers, dungarees). Like his mother, George has the ability to sell out whatever he wears. (Photo: David Rowland/ AP/SNPA)

George made his first official public appearance at Government House in Wellington, during a play-date with a bunch of Kiwi babies of the same age on April 9. Possibly the most covered play-date ever, it was a festival of cuteness. (Photo: Government House / Getty Images)

George got down on the floor to play with intriguing toys and other babies during his Plunket Play Group appearance in Wellington, N.Z. He smiled, he gurgled, he crawled, he interacted with some of the other babies, and the photographers loved every minute. (Photo: Pool Photo/ Samir Hussein/ WireImage)

The first of the many stuffed toys George would receive Down Under, this large soft bear was presented to him by the organization that arranged his Plunket play-date in Wellington. (Photo: Woolf Crown Copywrite/ AFP/Getty Images)

After arriving at Admiralty House, the official Sydney residence of the Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove presents George with one of the many gifts he received Down Under, in this case a giant stuffed wombat. He seemed to be pleased, but Prince William, whose own nickname as a baby was Wombat, was especially excited. (Photo: Photo by David Foote /Admiralty House/ Getty Images))

Prince George's second official engagement of the trip was a visit on April 20 to Sydney's Taronga Zoo on the city's spectacular harbor. The zoo's Bilby Enclosure has been renamed for George and the baby got to meet a bilby (a bunny-like marsupial) also called George. He got up close and personal with the critter, even tried to reach in and grab it, although Kate made sure he didn't. Baby George "has got quite a strong grip," she told the zookeeper. (Photo: Samir Hussein WireImage)

George was engaged, active and vocal during the zoo trip, the most we had seen him up to that point. Photographers were able to snap scores of pictures showing the family interacting in a way that showed a happy baby with adoring parents. (Photo: Photo by Samir Hussein/ WireImage)

Another airport arrival, another quick glimpse of George, here in Canberra on April 20. Despite some worries beforehand, according to Prince William, George turned out to be a trooper when it came to long-distance flights, and every time he came off or got on an airplane he was engaged and wriggling vigorously. (Photo: Photo by Cole Bennetts/ Getty Images)

After three weeks, the Australian tour was over and the family prepared to depart from Canberra, on April 25. Once again there was a brief glimpse of George as his parents boarded their aircraft for the 25-hour journey back to the U.K. (Photo: Photo by Samir Hussein/ WireImage)

When next seen, George was 11 months old and almost walking on his own. Kate took him to a polo match where Prince William was playing in Gloucestershire, on June 15, and photographers were able to snap him crawling and walking with the help of his mum. (Photo: Splash News)

Turns out 'Vanity Fair' thought that picture of the family at the Sydney zoo would make a perfect cover shot for their August issue celebrating George's first birthday. (Photo: Photo by Samir Hussein/ WireImage)

To mark his first birthday, Will and Kate took George to London's Natural History Museum to see a butterfly exhibit, where a photographer from the Press Association took his official birthday photos. He's walking on his own, arms out, dressed in pinstriped overalls and a navy blue shirt, shoes and socks, with something of a Mona Lisa smile on his face. "Look who's walking!" tweeted the palace. As hordes on Twitter said, we're dying of cuteness. (Photo: John Stillwell/ WPA Pool / Getty Images)

A second birthday photo shows George with his parents, Prince William and Duchess Kate, as they explore the 'Sensational Butterflies' exhibit at London's Natural History Museum in early July. (Photo: John Stillwell/ AFP/Getty Images)

George gets close enough to touch what's believed to be a Brazilian Blue Morpho butterfly on his father's hand during his birthday visit to 'Sensational Butterflies' at London's Natural History Museum in early July. (Photo: John Stillwell/AFP/Getty Images)